Grapevine: Bundles of Joy

News briefs from around Jerusalem.

By GREER FAY CASHMAN
Newborn baby [Illustrative] (photo credit: INIMAGE)
Newborn baby [Illustrative]
(photo credit: INIMAGE)
♦Ordinarily, Rabbi Yisroel Goldberg, the director of Chabad of Rehavia, would have been in New York a little over two weeks ago for the annual mega meeting of Chabad Shluhim (emissaries), but his wife, Shoshi, was about to give birth to their seventh child, and someone had to be on hand not only to welcome the new baby into the world but also to look after the other six. As it happened, Odel Hartman-Goldberg timed her exit from the womb to coincide with the start of the conference in New York. Her father refers to her as the first shluhim conference baby.
In some religious Jewish circles, a lot of fuss is made over the birth of a son, but a daughter gets a low-key welcome, despite the fact that it is the female in Judaism who is the determining factor in the Jewish identity of progeny.
However, in Chabad circles, a new baby, whatever its gender, is regarded as a blessing. As Goldberg explained last Saturday during the service, in which both the men’s and women’s sections of the synagogue were full to overflowing, no one should use economic hardships as an excuse for not bringing children into the world.
“A baby is a blessing, not a burden,” he declared.
The proof of this was seen in the pleasure he took in walking around the congregation while carrying Odel’s older sister Miri, a cute, tiny toddler who still needs a lot of attention. Miri was in his arms when he wasn’t carrying a Torah scroll, which he brought not only to the male congregants but also to the dividing line of the women’s section. During that part of the service when congregants pray for the well-being of sick relatives and friends, Goldberg walked around the synagogue repeating aloud every name for whom a blessing was asked and, at the women’s section, he again stood at the dividing line and women lined up to supply him with names of loved ones, which he also repeated.
Goldberg emphasized that not only does a baby bring joy to its parents, but it also comes with potential for contributing to society and the world at large.
Odel’s grandparents on both sides plus other relatives came from Toronto, Ramat Beit Shemesh and points elsewhere to celebrate her arrival at a huge kiddush held in the Be’er Miriam Synagogue, which is in the basement of the Jerusalem Great Synagogue, which hosts three separate congregations every Shabbat – one upstairs in the large main chapel; one relatively small synagogue on the ground floor for Sephardi congregants; and the Chabad congregation in the basement.
Since Goldberg established his Chabad House four years ago, he has attracted so many regular congregants and community activists that there isn’t enough room at the Chabad House to accommodate them. The Great Synagogue, which is around the corner, made its facilities available to Chabad, something for which Goldberg is immensely grateful and never forgets to mention.
According to Odel’s maternal grandfather, the Hartman family can trace its roots in Jerusalem some 140 years back. The first family member came from Hungary and is buried on the Mount of Olives. Odel is a ninth-generation descendant of the Ba’al Hatanya, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, who founded the Chabad Movement and whose book of wisdom, the Tanya, is the compendium of Chabad philosophy, her maternal grandfather Rabbi Hartman of Ramat Beit Shemesh revealed.
Odel, who is also descended from the famous Slonim family of Hebron, was named after the daughter of the Ba’al Shem Tov, who was the grandmother of the famed Rabbi Nahman of Breslov.
Goldberg, whose creative mind is always brimming with new ideas about how to attract people of all ages to Judaism, if not necessarily to his congregation, has an intriguing concept coming up for Hanukka – a hanukkiya fashioned out of ice. Chabad is well known for holding public Hanukka festivities, and no doubt the ice hanukkiya will be a big attraction – if it doesn’t melt in the interim.
♦ Another event connected with candles is being celebrated by Chabad this year. It is the 40th anniversary of the Shabbat candle-lighting campaign introduced by the late Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson under the acronym of NESHEK. In Hebrew, neshek means “ammunition,” while the Chabad acronym stands for “nerot Shabbat kodesh” (holy Shabbat candles), which the Rebbe regarded as ammunition against assimilation.
♦ Candles aside, another important event in the Chabad calendar during the Hebrew month of Kislev is Yod Tet Kislev, the 19th of the month, commemorating the release from a Russian prison of Rabbi Schneur Zalman. Chabadniks all over the world celebrate Yod Tet Kislev, just under a week ahead of Hanukka.
Just down the road from Goldberg’s Chabad of Rehavia is Chabad Talbiyeh, whose directors Rabbi Eli and Chani Canterman have already put out a notice asking people to hold the date for their Yod Tet Kislev celebration that will be held on Tuesday, December 9. They are also using the facilities of the Great Synagogue.
Guest attractions will be international lecturer, broadcaster and writer Rabbi Yitzhak Schochet and Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, with musical entertainment by Mordechai Brodsky, Gabriel Chouraki and Simcha Freedman. Refreshments are included in the admission fee.